By Paulina Gutiérrez
Coordinator of Citizen Action Against Poverty
16.4 million young people[1], 52% of the people between 15 and 29 years old who live in Mexico, are in a situation of exclusion that must change.
· 5.1 million young people are out of school and unemployed
· 8.2 million are in precarious jobs, without labor rights and without sufficient income to overcome poverty
· 3.1 million study in conditions of poverty “due to income”
These are young people of opportunity[2] who come from adverse backgrounds and face structural barriers to their social and economic inclusion. Therefore, effective actions are needed to break down these barriers, such as the educational lag for not having completed upper secondary education, the skills and competency deficiencies In accordance with the new requirements of the productive sector, because the educational offer is not very relevant and outdated to develop these skills, and public job training programs have very low coverage, in addition to being behind in their updating.
Another major barrier is the economic exclusion of young women who cannot go out and look for work because they are engaged in other activities. unpaid care and domestic work.
The discrimination Due to factors such as educational level, gender, social class, and skin color, young people also face significant barriers to economic inclusion. They constantly encounter discriminatory practices in hiring processes and a lack of sensitivity from employers towards their opportunities and circumstances.
We have identified the following proposals to address these barriers[3]:
1. Strengthen the Youth Building the Future Program with improvements
2. Legislate the figure of apprentices and first employment
3. Strengthen and coordinate job training actions
4. Update and re-evaluate technical and technological upper secondary education
5. Effective strategies for reducing dropout rates in upper secondary education
6. Guarantee an accessible and context-appropriate Second Chance Upper Secondary Education Option for young people, an opportunity linked to work
7. Care services that free young women from this obligation
8. Promotion of the social economy and entrepreneurship as economic options
9. Collaboration with civil organizations
10. A new labor policy for decent work.
Convinced that the economic inclusion of young people requires collaboration between governments, society and private enterprise, Citizen Action Against Poverty, the Alliance for Youth with Decent Work and the Global Network of Young Opportunities CDMX (GOYN)We are convening the Second Round of the Learning Community ¡Sí Jalo! in which we bring together different actors interested in collaboratively building public policy lines for the economic inclusion of young people.
We seek to strengthen and prioritize our proposals based on: (1) lessons learned from international experience, (2) the findings of the "Youth Opportunity" study, (3) successful civil society experiences, and (4) dialogue with national experts on each of the topics, as well as with individuals connected to the new Federal and Mexico City governments. We also aim to share these proposals, adopt them within a broader collective than just the Alliance and GOYN networks, and agree on a viable path forward effectively.
With this objective, we share the results of one of the four sessions we have held so far, in which we had the opportunity to have an open dialogue with decision-makers[4] of the new Government of Mexico City, and we believe that it opens up opportunities for collaboration.
In the Session: “For a comprehensive youth employability policy opportunityWe invited education officials in Mexico City to discuss proposals to address the problem of educational disadvantage as the main barrier to economic inclusion for young people. In Mexico City, there are 622,000 young people with educational disadvantages, of whom 194,000 between the ages of 15 and 19 are out of school and lack the educational level corresponding to their age. Additionally, there are 194,000 young people between the ages of 20 and 29 without upper secondary education.
80% of jobs that pay a minimum of 10,000 pesos require a high school diploma.
Proposals to overcome the barriers of educational lag among young people: opportunity
1. The Secretariat of Education, Science and Technology and Innovation (SECTEI) can promote a technical, terminal and dual-purpose second-chance high school program, focused on job training for young people over 18 years of age, based on the installed capacity and best practices of community education developed, for example, in the PILARES.
2. This new high school modality can be based on the four socio-cognitive resources of the new Common Curriculum Framework (MCC) of the EMS and the knowledge of the three disciplinary areas with a focus on training for life and work.
3. The civil society organizations grouped in GOYN can contribute resources, methodologies and knowledge to enrich this high school modality, especially in the development of the three socio-emotional resources and the five socio-emotional development areas of the MCC, with a focus on employability and the right to decent work.
4. Coordinate efforts with other entities. Explore collaboration with the Decent Work Promotion Program of the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion (STYFE) and with the programs of the Institute for Job Training (ICAT), also under the STYFE. In a second phase, collaboration with the CECATI centers, under the Federal Ministry of Public Education's (SEP) Undersecretariat of Upper Secondary Education, can be explored.
SECTEI presented its educational project with a "life cycle perspective," encompassing programs to serve the population from early childhood and upper secondary education to support for university students. These proposals can undoubtedly contribute to breaking down barriers to youth employability and guaranteeing their right to education.
1. Basic education as part of the care system
The expansion of full-time schools that offer artistic and technological education, in addition to sports activities, is good news, in which the Mexico City Government assumes co-responsibility in the care work that undoubtedly frees up young people's available time for their economic inclusion.
2. Education for work, life and citizenship.
To promote the development of life and work skills and to foster collaborative habits
3. Make the most of what you already have
Strengthen the PILARES online high school program, with online modality, official validity and flexible schedules.
4. Universalization of high school
Expand the educational offerings of high school in different modalities and provide certification of studies for those who have not completed upper secondary education.
5. Fair economic and educational inclusion
Promoting an economy that demands other types of jobs, for example, in skilled social services
6. Metropolitan linkage
Promote metropolitan policies, considering that even educational infrastructure is metropolitan.
Undoubtedly, the vision of the new Mexico City government, as well as its willingness to engage in dialogue with organized civil society, opens opportunities for collaboration. Based on these public policy guidelines, we can contribute to creating better conditions for economic and educational inclusion for young people in Mexico City.
From the Yes Jalo Community We will be sharing our dialogues to strengthen our demand for an employability policy for young people.
[1] For more information, see the study by Acción Ciudadana Frente a la Pobreza (2024) “Jóvenes Oportunidad: Datos de la Zona Metropolitana del Valle de México. Análisis de políticas y comentarios para su inclusión económica”, available at: https://frentealapobreza.mx/jovenesoportunidad/
[2] Young people with opportunities are resilient, creative and resourceful individuals who come from adverse contexts that create structural barriers to finding work and who, by having an opportunity for social, educational and work inclusion in dignified conditions, contribute to the country's economic growth and begin a process of social mobility.
[3] Citizen Action Against Poverty (2024) “Youth Opportunity: Data from the Metropolitan Area of the Valley of Mexico. Policy Analysis and Recommendations for their Economic Inclusion”, available at: https://frentealapobreza.mx/jovenesoportunidad
[4] This session was attended by Mr. Pablo Yanes Rizo, who had not yet taken office as Secretary of SECTEI, and Ms. Cecilia López Enríquez, Director of High School Programs at SECTEI.